1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to decorative lighting, and more particularly to a lighting apparatus which includes a light source and a luminescent material which absorbs light from the light source and emits light of a different color.
2. Description of the Related Art
Examples of decorative lighting are numerous. U.S. Pat. No. 5,649,755, for example, discloses an elongated, decorative, flexible, light-transmitting assembly, useful for adorning wearing apparel, which includes a source of light having a light-transmitting area. A length of clear flexible polymer has a first end adjacent the light transmitting area and an elongated body having an outer surface and a remote end. The length has many marks formed inwardly from the outer surface to cause the light entering the first end to be reflected in an attractive manner.
Another example of decorative lighting is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,752,337. This patent discloses a multi-color illuminated panel made up of a decorative frontsheet having windows cut therein, a transparent supporting sheet, which may also have decorative printing thereon, and a pre-wired backsheet on which are affixed discrete individual single-color electro-luminescent light panel segments. The electro-luminescent light segments may have different colors and are arranged to shine through the windows and provide a multi-color lighting effect.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,639,157 discloses a decorative string lighting system which includes a plurality of illuminators, a power cord for connection to a source of electrical power, and a wire harness for feeding the power to the illuminators. The system can also include a multiplicity of light output transducers, a control circuit powered from an external source for activating the transducers, the transducers of an illuminator subset being in separate circuit paths for independent activation by the control circuit, a translucent illuminator body, a fiber-optic element, one end of the element being optically connected to the illuminator body, and a coupler member optically connected to an opposite end of the fiber optic element, the coupler member being formed for receiving light from the illuminator subset and transmitting the light into the fiber optic element for lighting the illuminator body, means for producing spectrally distinct light from each transducer of the illuminator subset, whereby the illuminator body is lighted in colors corresponding to activated ones of the transducers of the coupler subset.
Although the above examples of decorative lighting are satisfactory, it would be desirable to have a decorative lighting apparatus which was simple in design, and which provided enhanced flexibility in emitting light of desired colors at selected locations in desired patterns.